Blog

As a sponsor for Chicago Zine Fest, we’re posting this letter from CZF on the QuimBlog here to help get the word out, which we hope is helpful info. CZF writes:

We hope you are doing well and staying safe!

We are almost one year into the global pandemic. This has been a difficult time for so many people in our community and throughout the world. We miss our in-person connections, but out of an abundance of caution we have decided to postpone Chicago Zine Fest to May 14th, 2022.

We are thrilled to see that frontline workers, medical personnel, educators, seniors, and many others are now able to receive their COVID-19 vaccinations. When we postponed last year’s zine fest to May 2021, we had hoped that we would be in a better, safer place than we were at the start of 2020. As far as a large in-person festival with more than 3,000 visiting attendees such as ours is concerned, we’re not there yet.

The good news is that our venue was able to roll over the date for our in-person fest to May 14, 2022, along with our deposit on the rental. We hope that this extension gives exhibitors, attendees, and guests the time they need to get vaccinated, make travel arrangements, and prepare for a large in-person event.

If you were accepted as an exhibitor for 2020’s Exhibition Day, your acceptance and table fee will carry over for the 2022 fest. We thank you for your understanding and patience, and we hope you’ll be able to join us in 2022. On a practical note: Almost all the funds we received from table fees went into the deposit we’ve already paid for the venue. We have limited cash on hand right now, and not a lot of fundraising opportunities on the horizon. If you need to cancel your spot, we will accommodate a refund, but if you are able to hold your table for 2022, we would appreciate it. If you would like to cancel your table and be refunded your table fee, please email us at chicagozinefest@gmail.com.

Unlike last year’s fest, we will not be scheduling any digital programming for May 2021. We have decided to reserve our energy to focus on the safety, well-being, and interests of the CZF community for next year’s fest.

There are still lots of ways to participate in zine culture! Please continue to show your support to independent artists and creators by buying their work directly from the artist, or from one of the many independent bookstores throughout the city (links to local indie bookstores, including those that carry zines, below). You can celebrate artists during this time by sharing their work online and on social media, as well. There’s also a monthly zine club held online by one of our organizers, Cynthia, and Quimby’s Bookstore: More info at at Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook: @zineclubchicago

We look forward to the day when we are able to see you again in person, across an exhibitor’s table, at a volunteer meet-up, or at one of our fun afterparties!

If you have any questions, please email us at chicagozinefest@gmail.com

We can’t wait to see you in 2022!

Indie bookstores in Chicago that carry zines:
Quimby’s Bookstore: https://www.quimbys.com/
Uncharted Books: https://www.unchartedbooks.com/
Build Coffee: https://buildcoffee.org/
Space Oddities: https://spaceoddities.org/
Women & Children First: https://www.womenandchildrenfirst.com/

Other indie bookstores in Chicago:
57th Street Books
Bookie’s
Bookends and Beginnings
Bucket O’Blood Books and Records
Inga Bookshop
Madison Street Books
Myopic Books
Open Books
Pilsen Community Books
Powell’s Books
Roscoe Books
Semicolon
Seminary Co-Op Bookstore
The Book Cellar
The Dial Bookshop
The Wicker Park Secret Agent Supply Co.
Underground Bookstore
Volumes

your Chicago Zine Fest organizers,
Alex, Anna, Cynthia, Elliott, and Emily